GAME DAY
WHO: Acadie-Bathurst Titan vs Saint John Sea Dogs
WHEN: Tonight, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Harbour Station
VISITING TEAM: Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Record: 15-8-0-0 (2nd in Maritime Division)
Last Game: 5-2 loss vs Quebec yesterday
Leading Scorer: Gabriel Levesque (23GP-8G-24A-32Pts)
Notes: The Acadie-Bathurst Titan come into today’s matchup with a 15-8-0-0 record which is good for second in the Maritime Division and fifth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League… the Titan are coming off a 5-2 loss against the Quebec Remparts last night at the KC Irving Regional Centre. Bathurst scored two early goals courtesy of Sebastien Trudeau and Zach O’Brien. But it was all downhill from there as the Remparts scored five unanswered goals – including four on the power play – and outshot the Titan by an incredible 49-15 margin. Olivier Roy allowed five goals on 44 shots before getting tugged from the net… Bathurst is 7-4-0-0 on the road this season and have outscored their opposition 31-23 along the way. This is the Titan’s first regular season trip to Harbour Station this season after losing all four matches in the building last year… after getting off to a solid start, Bathurst has been stuttering a bit lately and are 5-5-0-0 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss… Bathurst has the seventh best power play in the league with a rating of 0.209%. Both of their goals last night came on the man advantage… the Titan have a strong penalty killing unit. They are ranked second the league with a rating of 0.849% despite allowing Quebec to score four extra man advantage markers yesterday… Bathurst has taken a total of 374 penalty minutes this season which is the sixth most in the league and second highest among maritime based teams. Halifax has 448 penalty minutes to lead the division… Gabriel Levesque leads the Titan in scoring with 32 points. He also leads the team in assists with 24 and plus/minus with a +9 rating… Sebastien Trudeau leads the team in goals with 12… not surprisingly, Vincent Arseneau leads the northern New Brunswick team in penalty minutes with 52 in 32 games… Edmonton Oilers prospect Olivier Roy will likely get the start in net as he did for Monday’s Subway Super Series game at Harbour Station. Roy has a record of 8-6-0-0, a goals against average of 2.69, and a save percentage of 0.914... Christope Losier leads the Titan in fights with 6... Bathurst is sixth in the league with 22 fights this season.
Record: 16-3-0-2
Last Game: 4-3 shootout loss vs Chicoutimi last Saturday
Leading Scorer: Jonathan Huberdeau (21GP-14G-14A-28Pts)
Notes: The Saint John Sea Dogs enter today’s action with a 16-3-0-2 record which is good for first place in the Maritime Division, tied for second overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Quebec Remparts (the Drummondville Voltigeurs are one point ahead but have played four more games), and were ranked 4th in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings this week… the Sea Dogs are coming off a thrilling 4-3 shootout loss at home to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last Saturday. Mike Thomas had the lone Saint John goal entering the final minute of the play with the Sags leading 3-1. But Zach Phillips set-up Nathan Beaulieu with 50 seconds remaining and Jonathan Huberdeau with five seconds left to send the game into extra time. Chicoutimi would pick up the extra point via a shootout win… the shootout loss was the Sea Dogs’ first defeat on home ice this season. They have yet to lose in regulation at Harbour Station, however. They are the owners of a 9-0-0-1 home record and are the only team in the QMJHL without a home regulation loss… Saint John’s power play continues to be middle-of-the-pack. They are ranked ninth with a rating of 0.198%... they are the owners of the league’s fourth best penalty kill with an efficiency of 0.835%... Jonathan Huberdeau is still the Sea Dogs’ leading scorer with 28 points in 21 matches. Michael Kirkpatrick is slowly creeping up though with 27 points. Huberdeau also leads Saint John in goals with 14 (which is also good for a tie for third place in the league goal scoring race), plus/minus with a +25, and penalty minutes with 29… Kirkpatrick leads the Sea Dogs in assists with 20… Zach Phillips, who is second on the Sea Dogs with 13 goals this season, is tied for the league lead in power play goals with six… if the goaltending rotation holds true, Jacob DeSerres should get the start in goal. But as of earlier this week, he was still questionable to play because of a groin pull which he suffered last Friday against Cape Breton. DeSerres has a record of 4-1-0-0, a goals against average of 2.77, and save percentage 0.898%... if he can’t start, Frederic Piche will get the call. The 19-year old has a record of 8-1-0-2, a GAA of 2.77, and a SV% of 0.918%.
THE LAST MEETING
These two teams met a few weeks ago in Bathurst for what was one of the Sea Dogs worst games of the young season. Goaltender Jacob DeSerres picked up the loss while his team defense was dreadful in front of him.
From the Sea Dogs website:
The Titan defeated the Sea Dogs by a score of 5-1 at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre back on October 22 in the only previous meeting between these two teams this season. Sophomore sniper Zack Phillips tallied the lone marker of the match for Saint John in last month’s road loss to Acadie-Bathurst, kicking off a goal-scoring streak that would go on to last five games – a career best.PAIEMENT RETURNS TO HARBOUR STATION
Recently hired Titan head coach Real Paiement makes his return to Harbour Station this evening. The last time Paiement coached in this building was on January 26, 2008 when the St. John’s Fog Devils defeated the Sea Dogs 5-4. The Fog Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, but a third period surge by Saint John gave the Foggies a bit of a scare.
In that game, Paiement picked up his 500th career coaching victory.
GOOD TILT
One of the better fights last season saw the Sea Dogs' Nathan Beaulieu drop the gloves with Bathurst's Bryce Milson:
ARENA INFO
Venue: Harbour Station
Seating Capacity: 6,297
Year Built: 1993
QMJHL Arena Guide
MEDIA GUIDE
Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Live Blog: Station Nation
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation
Follow Station Nation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/station_nation for in-game updates, scores, stats, and live coverage during tonight’s game.
AFTER THE BUZZER
It will be Saint John’s biggest test of the season tomorrow afternoon when they host the Quebec Remparts at 4:00 pm at Harbour Station.
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